Pots; Ben Godfrey

Jimmy Tubb
The boy returned from Shrewsbury following a successful time in League One and where two misses at Wembley had shaped him into a man.

In Ben Godfrey, we are now looking at a centre back, originally a centre midfielder, who has not just grown in size to be the 6ft beast that he is, but has grown into a culture of the best football Carrow Road has seen in years. Is he the finished article? By all means no, but he has every single attribute to become one of the best defenders in the country. The speed, power, mental stability and a passion for the club we all love is infectious.

They say the secret of success is to be ready when the opportunity comes. Godfrey was ready, fire in the heart and as injuries built up, the lion was ready to show the Championship how good he was.

Since the moment he came in against Bolton in December, he has become stronger and wiser. Granted the occasional error does occur, the misplaced pass here and there, we can all accept a young defender making, especially under the heaps of pressure to hold on to the position we have been in over the past few months.

It cannot be forgotten that both Hanley and Klose have been waiting for their opportunity and in some teams would be hoping for a slip up from a young defender, but Ben has made the position his own and now you cannot imagine the defence lining up without him. His bond and connection with Christoph pulls on the heart strings of every Norwich fan seeing them drive the team on from the back. Being asked to collect the ball from the keeper and move it into the midfield could be a daunting task for some but Ben has taken it in his stride and the pinpoint diagonal pass (see pass to Aarons vs QPR for reference) is becoming trademark of this defender’s time in the team.

Throughout the season, there have been numerous times where Ben has come up trumps for us further forward too. Rotherham away, Bristol City at home and then finally the piledriver against Reading, where most of us were wondering where the goal was going to come from. All three were vital in terms of momentum and the results in our season. For the 21-year-old to take this responsibility on himself and take a risk like the shot against Reading is exceptional.

Not only have his goals been crucial to our success but his defending has been excellent and has progressed game by game. Numerous times he has been composed, firm and resolute at the back when games have been tough and expectations have risen but both Godfrey and Christoph have put their bodies on the line to keep the ball out of the city net.

Finally, I am yet to see a player enjoy every single goal as much as him. He looks so angry but it is raw emotion. The roar released from this lion connects to the fans as you can see a will to succeed which embraces everything Daniel Farke has instilled in this team. He needs leaders, he needs passion and he needs the connection between players and fans. Godfrey provides this consistently.

What we currently have and what Godfrey along with Max, Jamal and Todd all provide to every Norwich fan is a sense of pride from the academy system that we have been missing out on over the past 10 years. You can tell these boys appreciate every single minute they put on the Norwich shirt and the journey has been long for all of them. Patience has been key but the ability to grab the opportunity is one thing but to then make it your own is a credit to all of them. Godfrey has epitomised how much he appreciates this opportunity and the club which has provided it to him.

We can all accept that at some point bigger teams will come calling. As a Norwich fan you sit in the stands game after game and admire the talent which is on show this year, Ben has been a revelation in the team. Although he has not played as many games as some of the star names, we cannot discredit his impact, the fact we have only lost 2 games since he has been in the starting line up is testament to this.

Hannah Peart
An unconventional choice, but in any other season, you wouldn’t think twice. The plaudits this season have gone to the breakthroughs, Max Aarons, Buendia, Pukki, but I believe there’s a very strong case for POTS to go to Ben Godfrey.

When Ben smashed home the 6th goal in a 6-1 win to Coventry back in August 2016, he celebrated like he had just won the league, and I, among many others thought his time had come. We praise players who have risen through the ranks at Colney, but we have overlooked a player who had to fight for his right to stake a claim in our beloved yellow and green.

Between that goal in August 2016 and the start of the 2018-19 campaign, Ben made 5 appearances for City, only 2 of which were in the league. Last season, the season of forming a Norwich ‘identity’ if you like for the ‘new Norwich City’, Ben is not even going through the Colney doors, he is grafting and learning his trade in a competitive season of League One football. I am not saying this because I believe he should have been at Norwich, a season at Shrewsbury is far superior to the U23s, but I want to remind people of this so I can emphasise my next point and my first reason of why I believe he is a strong POTS contender.

In a season where a philosophy is being driven of what it means to be a Norwich City player, and how to play the Norwich City way, Ben Godfrey isn’t even at the club, but yet, he gets it more than anyone.

For a 21-year-old, who has never really been given a chance to develop inside the club’s four walls, to come in to ‘Part 2’ if you like of the Norwich City revolution, and fully ‘get it’ in this day and age, is quite frankly remarkable. Ben gets what it means to play for Norwich City emotionally and intellectually and executes it in a manner which looks to the naked eye, like he hasn’t played anywhere else.

Reason two is a quick one, but not something to be overlooked – passion.

For years Norwich have called out for a leader, and Ben Godfrey is our future Captain. Ben is fearless, measured and disciplined, but he is also the man that laughs in the face of Patrick Bamford, and the guy that tries to keep a straight face when we all know he wants to jump in the Barclay. His celebrations are immeasurable, and it’s not the visuals I’m giving him my vote for, but it’s the fact that someone who had been somewhat a visitor to Norwich in recent years, plays and looks (although doesn’t sound) like he grew up in the streets in the county of Norfolk with us.

The number 4 is reason number three for why I think Ben is not misplaced on the list of contenders for POTS. Cast your mind back to the 27th of July 2018, and the announcement of squad numbers for the coming season. Ben Godfrey is given the mantle of the number 4 shirt and it’s hard to overlook it.

Most of you will have been around the game longer than I have and might not think shirt numbers mean anything but certain numbers stand out and number four is one of them for me. Ben’s number flicks from 22 to 4 and it’s finally time for him to get his chance… or no? It wasn’t until Saturday the 8th of December that Ben made his first league start (and if my research serves me right, this was his first league start in a yellow shirt entirely).

What I applaud about this fact is that Ben came into a top of the table Norwich side, replacing international centre back Timm Klose, as a ‘midfielder’ who hadn’t started a league game for the Canaries before. Ben said he wanted to take his chance with both hands, Ben took it with both hands, put it under lock and key, and has hidden the key somewhere no-one else can find it.

Ben’s place in the starting XI is now a given, and in the context of 10 others with the same formula, it risks being overlooked but Ben replaced a season professional without a league start to his name and become irreplaceable. His goals have won us games, and his attitude will win us something priceless.

Ben Godfrey may not be the front runner in the POTS contest, but his season has been remarkable. There’s good reason why the Premier League big boys are after him, and when you put it in that context, a POTS award doesn’t seem out of place at all.